Bad Shifting
by KaitoHeichou
Summary: Rivaille is waken up from his afternoon nap because something has gone wrong during one of Hanji's experiments, and now Eren won't turn back to his human form. But wait...there's no titan in the courtyard? This fic was a request by a friend, so there is nothing serious to expect from it. Reviews are always welcome :). (Also some romance if you squint just a tiny bit.)


A gentle tap on his door woke Rivaille up from his afternoon nap. He hadn't even gotten to doze off, and someone was already bothering him. He wanted to snap at whoever it was and tell them to fuck off, but he remembered Hanji had said she'd carry some experiments on Jaeger during the morning; knowing it could be some important report, he couldn't afford to postpone it to any later. Sighing heavily, he stood straight in his chair, pretended to read some papers and let out a growl. ''Come in.''

Petra hesitantly opened the door and approached his desk, a drop of sweat glistening on her forehead as she slightly leaned towards the corporal. Her hands were behind her back, fingers twitching nervously. Rivaille glanced at her, confused at her uncharacteristic mannerisms. She usually was calm and composed in front of him, unlike many other subordinates he had had to deal with. "What is it, Petra?"

"W-well, you see, corporal, the experiments didn't go quite as planned…" The drop of sweat briefly descended to her cheek.

"Mmh, what do you mean? What did Hanji mess up this time?"

"As far as she knows, nothing. She hadn't even started the experiments. We've been spending all morning trying to revert Eren back to normal." Rivaille suddenly stood up, his eyes cold as he glared at angrily. "Eren has shifted since this morning and he's still in his titan form? You should have told me earlier, soldier!"

"Miss Hanji wouldn't let us call you, sir!" She took a step back, not used to see the corporal show anger so openly. "And well…as for him being in his titan form, that's not quite the case…"

"What do you mean?" He moved from behind the desk and headed towards the door, Petra following him close behind. "You said he shifted this morning, right? As far as I know, he shifts into a titan, or what, or did he turn into a big-ass tree or something?"

"You wouldn't believe me if you don't see it with your own eyes, corporal." Rivaille grunted a few words as a protest and headed towards the courtyard. He spotted Hanji in the middle, facing away from him, several more people around her. Nonetheless, there was no sign of Eren, of any titan to be more precise. "Hanji, where's the scum?"

Hanji stiffened at the voice and turned around slowly, a nervous twitchy smile on her face. She gulped and waved at him as if nothing were going on. "Corporal!" She laughed. "What's the purpose of your visit?"

"Don't play dumb, Hanji. Where is Jaeger?" She scratched her cheek, her smile turning into an innocent pout, the one she usually did when she had messed something up. "I don't think you'll like him the way he is now."

"I never like him. Jaeger. Now." Hanji gulped and signaled something to one of her helpers. He approached Rivaille, trembling, and left something in his arms. The corporal glanced down and a frown took over the entirety of his face, disgust clearly shown in his eyes. "Hanji, what is the meaning of this? You know I am not the one for shitty jokes."

"That's Eren, Rivaille."

He rolled his eyes, annoyed. He really hated practical jokes, and this one was the most tasteless one he had ever been forced to suffer. "No, Hanji, this is not Jaeger. This, you blind twat, is a _cat_." The little brown kitten in his arms purred lazily and nuzzled even more into him, clearly thinking that were it was was a wonderful sleeping place. "Tsch, dirty fur ball, someone take it away from me before it covers me in hair and forces me to wash my clothes thrice a day."

"Doesn't he already do that?" The clandestine whisper was silence by the deadly glare that was sent in the direction it came from. Rivaille really didn't have any time for idiocies like that, he was missing his god damned nap. Hanji approached him and poked his nose, making the corporal wince and back away a step.

"Yes, it is a cat, but the cat is Eren. When I told him to turn so I could conduct my experiments, this happened. He bit his thumb, smoke appeared, and where we expected to see a titan this little thing was staring at us from the ground. And now he won't turn back."

The small feline opened its green eyes and looked up at its holder. It mewed happily, as if it being Rivaille somehow made its day, and climbed onto his shoulder to purr and rub itself against his neck. All the soldiers in the courtyard were trying their best to hold back their chuckles, even if none of them was actually accomplishing anything.

"He's attached to you, see? I'm definitely not lying." Hanji grinned widely and turned his back to him, returning to her original position. "I believe you're the one who should take care of him, Rivaille. You _were _put in charge of him, and Eren being now a cat makes no difference."

Everyone nodded and returned to what they were doing before this entire situation had caused them to gather around. The corporal was now very frustrated. Not only he did not get to nap, he was being left in charge of a cat that was supposedly Jaeger, as if in his human form he wasn't annoying enough? "You must be fucking kidding me…I'm not going to take care of an animal, you hear me?" There was nobody else to complain to anymore, and the kitten mewing next to his ear seemed to have different plans.

Rivaille sighed and took Eren, or well, what everyone called Eren, back into his arms. It didn't seem very happy with being moved again, but it eventually curled up again and went to sleep. Returning to his office, he closed the door slowly with his leg not to wake the cat up, even if he had no idea why he cared so much about a stupid cat and it was pissing him off. He sat back in his armchair, leaving Eren in his lap, and leaned back with his arms crossed behind his head. "Mmh, this is bullshit…I am sure Jaeger is hiding somewhere, ready to pop up at me and yell 'surprise'. The moment I see his face, he's getting a good punch."

A meow made him glance down at the kitten. It was staring at him, green eyes wide, as if accusing him of wanting to take such violent measures. He rolled his eyes and scratched the critter's head. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I'm going to punch _you_." A rough tongue brushed his fingers as a complaint. "Oh come on, don't tell me you think you're him too?"

The feline did several rolls in his lap and ended up on its back. "Is that supposed to be a 'yes'?" Rivaille muttered absent-mindedly, brushing his fingers up and down his new pet's belly. "Well, if you really are Jaeger, you're the one who will have to clean all the fur from my clothes, mister. One by one." A purr of confirmation reached his fingers, and a rare smile tugged the corner of the corporal's lips up. "Then I have no further complaint."

An hour later he had fallen asleep once again, hands resting around the fur ball which also napping calmly in the warmth of his cape. For some reason, he wasn't angry, not even annoyed anymore. He had never thought the company of an animal would be something so enjoyable, and he surprisingly thought of keeping it for the time being. He'd thank Eren for the gift after scolding him for pulling such jokes on him. Maybe take the kid out for dinner. Or just give him less chores next time, who knew.

A heavy weight and the presence of a warm breath woke Rivaille up at nightfall. He cracked his eyes open to try understand what was going on, and they widened instantly when he noticed Eren peacefully sleeping on top of him. The corporal frowned and shifted around, trying to make him move. "Jaeger." Nothing. "Jaeger." He repeated, this time more firmly, though he still got no reaction. With a sigh, he poked the other's nose. "Eren, wake up."

Eren yawned and stretched, smiling softly at his corporal when he was finally fully awake. "Sir."

"May I know what you're doing?"

"What do you mean, sir? You're the one who brought me in, right?"

"Tsch, you really don't know when to give up on a joke? Where's the cat?"

The young man on his lap grinned and nuzzled into his neck, mewing mockingly for a brief second. "He's right here. I have no idea how it happened, but it was fun. The corporal has a very gentle touch." Red briefly tinted Rivaille's cheeks red, which really was a never seen sight. He didn't blush. In fact, he refused to believe he was blushing at that moment, and decided not to comment on Eren's mumblings. "Do you plan to spend more time there, Jaeger?"

"Maybe. If the corporal's okay with it." The corporal felt like this was the time to punish the kid for his boldness, but for some reason he didn't think he could actually do it. For once, he decided to let it slide and unconsciously wrapped his arms around Eren's waist, closing his eyes. "Just tonight."

"And if I ever turn into a cat again, sir?"

After hesitating for a brief moment, Rivaille allowed himself to laugh and leave a soft kiss on the other's cheek. "Then I might consider doing it again."


End file.
